OK, I know this post isn’t vegan-related, but I do know that many of you out there are like me: vegan and a writer, so I wanted to let you in on a contest that I’m actually coordinating. The Top of the Mountain Book Award is given out each year at the Northern Colorado Writers Conference. This year, it’s happening March 28-29. You don’t have to attend the conference or even be a member to win. The contest is open to published and unpublished authors of fiction and/or creative/narrative nonfiction. Just polish up the first 25 pages and a 5-page synopsis. Deadline is February 1, so get those entries in! The top prize is $1,000!! Get the full guidelines HERE and good luck!
Wine and Words
For the second year in a row, I catered Wine & Words, a fundraising event for the Northern Colorado Writers. I love this event and I definitely love showing people that vegan food is delicious! You’ve seen the gluten-free & vegan cupcakes and I’m excited to show you what else I made (and about 95% organic, too!)
Quinoa Salad
I cooked 2 cups of quinoa in 2-1/2 cups of vegetable broth. I let it cool in the fridge for a day, then added 1 chopped up cucumber, two chopped tomatoes, a chopped red onion, 1 cup of chopped parsley, and a cup of toasted pinenuts. In a small bowl, I combined 3 Tbs of ume plum vinegar with 2 Tbs of olive oil, 1 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of black pepper, then mixed it into the salad. Easy!
Field Roast-Stuffed Mushrooms
These were gone in minutes! I cooked up a diced green pepper with a small chopped onion and added four ground up Field Roast sausages, Italian flavor. I could make the stuffing a day ahead, so that helped out. I then used about 60 mushrooms and lightly sauteed them in Earth Balance and garlic. Don’t cook too much, just enough to soften them up. Just before the event, I heated up the stuffing in a pan on the stove and stuffed the mushrooms.
Pesto Potato Bread Sandwiches
I LOVE this bread for these finger sandwiches. The recipe makes two loaves, so I made two different kinds of sandwiches. I did, however, use a seasoned cream cheese (Tofutti mixed with Good Seasoning dressing mix) on both. On one, I had cucumbers, tomatoes and fresh basil. On the other, I used roasted red peppers and avocados.
Fruit Cones
I figured this was a great way to eat fruit! I dipped the tops of ice cream cones in melted chocolate, then poured sprinkles around the top. Initially, I was going to fill them with fruit to serve, but it made more sense to let guests do it. That way, they can be picky about what fruit they want, and then the fruit wouldn’t make the cones soggy. I also recommend spooning a bit of chocolate into the bottom of the cone for added chocolate goodness!
I also made a huge batch (not enough!) of Avocado Bruschetta and served them with tortilla scoops and gluten-free crackers. The Spinach Dip was also a hit and I served it with cut up peppers, cucumbers, and celery. Olives and a green salad rounded it out and made for a fabulous event!
I’m Still Here!
I haven’t forgot about all of you! This month has been uber crazy, namely, with the Northern Colorado Writers Conference that I help with. It was a huge success—probably one of the best NCW conference I’ve been to. Right now, I’m in the throes of polishing my novel to send to an agent and finishing up revisions for my nonfiction due at the publisher in less than two months! YIKES! Anyhoo…I’ll be back very soon with more recipes because my family is certainly growing tired of take out, leftovers, and vegan pizzas. For now…here’s a pic of myself with two of my favorite fellow writers…
Katie Ireland, in the middle, is a psychic medium and dear friend of mine. So in the meantime, check out her site!
Shameless Self Promotion . . .
The 2012 writing planner is finally here! Actually, it came together surprisingly fast. After doing 13 illustrations in a month, it’s great to see them all together in a finished product. You can order one for $13.95 and pick it up at the NCW Studio or $18 if you need it shipped. It feels great getting back into illustration, but the planner is hopefully going to help me write and stay on track so I can finish my book, Folsom’s 93.
Life of Pi
Alice in Wonderland
Peter Pan
Kerrie Flanagan (creator of the planner) and I hope that it will help writers set and accomplish their goals. Kerrie even added a Submission Tracker page in the back. If you live in the Fort Collins area, stop by the NCW Studio on Friday, November 25th and Saturday, the 26th from 9-3 for the annual Holiday Mart. There will be lots of handcrafted items and food, as well as journals featuring a few of the planner’s illustrations.
Have a great Thanksgiving!
Calling all writers . . . get organized with a writing planner!
I’ve been very busy these days between finishing my book, gearing up for the 2012 NCW Writers Conference, and doing an illustrations for a writing planner. I guess that’s why my recipe posting has taken a back seat lately.
Every writer could use a planner to help them stay on track. My friend, Kerrie Flanagan, director of the Northern Colorado Writers, publishes a writing planner every year. She asked me to do the illustrations for the 2012 version and I couldn’t be more thrilled with this project. In addition to writing, art is a passion of mine—even majored in it. (Word of advice for you youngins’: don’t major in fine arts. It sounds great now, but wait until you need to go to work in the real world . . .)
So I’m excited to be tapping into more of my right brain by returning to illustration. The planner is especially designed for writers to help keep them organized and on-task. Writing is a journey, thus, the theme of this planner. Each illustration portrays a different literary journey, such as The Road Not Taken, Alice in Wonderland, and the Odyssey, to name a few.
The planner will be available November 15th, but you can pre-order one for $13.95, $18, with shipping.
Around the World in 80 Days
If you’d like to pre-order your planner (and ones for your writing friends . . . ) visit the Northern Colorado Writers and order online. Thanks in advance for your support!
Conference and Vacation!
For the last few months, I have been part of the NCW’s Conference Creative Team—helping with all those fun details of a conference that my right brain just loves; none of the hard stuff like getting agents, editors, presenters, venue, etc. During all this, I also had to carve out time to fine tune my book proposal so that I can pitch to an agent on Saturday. Wish me luck!
Then the fam and I are off to the mountains for some well-earned time off!
The rest and relaxation will be short lived. When I get back on Wednesday, I’m going to have my work cut out for me. I was asked to be a preliminary judge for the Pacific Northwest Writers Association Literary Contest. I am super excited and looking forward to the task. By the time I get back, there ought to be close to 30 entries for me to judge! Whew!
Oh, and of course, I’ll be getting back to the food. I plan on trying a new meal during out snowy stay and I’ll post the results at the end of next week. So in the meantime, have a great weekend (and Spring Break) and catch up with all you soon!
My First Guest Blogger! Vegan, Wheat-free, and Nearly Sugar-free Blueberry Muffins
I’m very excited to introduce you to my first guest blogger, Kerrie Flanagan, director of The Northern Colorado Writers and freelance writer-extraordinaire. Kerrie has been a great sport when testing out some of my vegan creations. Some have been great, others not so much. She’ll even manage to smile when choking down one of the not-so-much ones. Thanks for being here, Kerrie!
Kerrie and I
I am thrilled to be the guest blogger today for my good friend and roof buddy (long, but fun story) April and take a break from working on my writers conference. When it comes to food, April and I agree on a few things; we both like to cook, we both want to provide healthy meals for our family and we both like to experiment in the kitchen. But when it comes to what we eat, we are on different sides of the fence. I am not a Vegan. I do eat meat (but I buy it from a local rancher and it is all free-range, grass-fed beef) and dairy. But I have the utmost respect for April and other Vegans. I love sampling her amazing food and trying some her recipes on my family.
So why am I here on the Epicurean Vegan? (besides the obvious, that I want to help my friend) it is because of my teenage daughter. Her acupuncturist wanted her to go on an elimination diet. So for 6 weeks, Delaney was to avoid wheat, dairy products and refined sugar. This was not an easy task, but we are on week 6 and she is doing great. One of the biggest things she missed was baked goods. The dairy part was no problem, the wheat; a little more of a challenge, but the sugar free part; nearly impossible. I am happy to say though, I found a recipe for muffins with oat flour and made a few adjustments (with April’s help) to substitute the dairy products. Delaney gave them a thumbs up.
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup oat flour
1 cup rolled oats
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3 Tbs honey (or 1/2 cup sugar if you want them sweeter)
2 tsp lemon zest (or 1/2 tsp. lemon juice)
1 tsp egg replacer + 2 Tbl water (whisk together)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup Almond milk
1 cup blueberries (thawed frozen, or fresh)
DIRECTIONS:
Combine everything except the blueberries in a large mixing bowl and mix with a whisk. Don’t use a mixer, as it will chop up the rolled oats.
Cover the bowl and set it aside for 10 minutes to allow the batter to thicken. Once complete, fold in the blueberries with a spoon. Grease a muffin pan with baking spray or use paper baking cups and fill 2/3 full with batter.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Makes 12 muffins.
*These were a little crumbly straight out of the oven. Once they cooled they were fine. You might want to try increasing egg replacer a little bit.
